Myo Life

Transcript

Hey, I'm Carmen, and welcome to Myo Life. That's short for My Outrageous Life, which is exactly the kind of life I get to live since I found the courage to ditch dental hygiene and build a life I'm bonkers about as a myofunctional therapist and entrepreneur. Here you will find all the things myo business and how to build a life that you, too, are bonkers about. I'm very happy you're here. Shall we dive in?
Hello, myo friend, and welcome back to the Myo Life podcast.
Today we are talking business goals. Now, if you're thinking about starting your myofunctional therapy business or maybe you've already started, let's just be real for a second. You don't need to do everything right now. You're probably overwhelmed as it is. And if you're scrolling through Instagram and seeing everybody else's perfect branding and fancy websites, seeing how much they're making, and now you think you have to do all of it before you get started, that’s just going to keep you from starting. So I’ve got to stop you right there. The fastest way to burnout is overcomplicating the process.
The goal isn’t to look like a business, okay? The goal is to get clients and make money as soon as possible. So today, I’m walking you through what I think are the first five things you need to do when starting your business. I’m going to break it down step by step so that you can take some action today. Are you ready for this? Let’s do it.
What you’re going to find surprising is that these business goals don’t say anything like "make a hundred thousand dollars this year." Nope, there are no financial goals here.
Goal number one: Get crystal clear on your who.
Before you even think about websites, logos, or social media, you need to get clear on who you're helping. Because remember, everyone is not your niche, okay? If you try to talk to everybody, you're going to attract no one. You need to create an ideal customer avatar that you build your business around. Yes, you might attract outliers—someone outside of those parameters—but everything you do in your business should be centered around your ideal who.
For me, this is Shelby, and I know her like she’s my sister. She’s a middle-aged woman who is focused on optimum wellness and believes that myofunctional therapy is a piece of the puzzle. She trusts my expertise, she is motivated to get the results she desires, and she can tell me what transformation she wants. She’s willing to pay for the recipe to get that transformation. She doesn’t ask for different payment terms, special treatment, or discounts. She doesn’t expect me to operate my business outside of the parameters I have set. She doesn’t send me five emails a day expecting immediate answers. She doesn’t need a lot of handholding. She is my dream client. She trusts me, she has money to spend, she wants the transformation, and she’s willing to pay for it.
If you don’t know who you’re helping, your marketing is going to fall flat. You won’t know who’s raising their virtual hand saying, "Hey, I have this problem. I need your help." This is why this is goal number one, and I want you to get clear on this before anything else.
Goal number two: Develop your offer, set your prices, and design your therapy program.
Now that you know who you help, let’s talk about how. What are you going to offer them? How are you going to price it?
Your offer is the bridge that takes your who from their pain point to the solution you provide. You need to know exactly who you help, exactly what you help them do, and how you're going to deliver that transformation. Is this going to be in one-on-one sessions (which I don’t recommend, but we’ll talk about that in another podcast)? Is it going to be a 12-week program, a six-month program, a year-long program?
What’s it going to cost? You are not selling sessions. You are selling a transformation. Instead of saying, "I charge $100 per session," you should say, "I help middle-aged women eliminate jaw pain and sleep better in 180 days with my therapy program," or whatever it is that you do.
When you frame your offer this way, people see value, not just an hourly rate. Pricing services is an area my students often struggle with, and I have a lesson on this very topic called the Profitable Pricing Lab. But I have to tell you this—if you have some weird money beliefs, you’ve got to deal with those.
You have to unpack them and get right with them. If you don’t believe the results and the transformation you offer your clients are worth what you're charging, they won’t believe it either. Your money disbelief is going to come through and be projected onto your client, who will then also question the value of your offer.
I encourage you to find what I call your happy pricing. This number is going to be higher than your resentment number but lower than your "holy cow, I'm going to barf" number. There is no "mayor of myo town," and there is no “going rate.”
People pay for results, not just sessions. Structure your offer around the transformation, not the time. Set your prices and know what your offer includes.
This isn’t going to be your final answer either. You’re going to have many iterations and get better with time. One thing you won’t change is your decision about your prices. You don’t want to lower them just because you’re scared someone won’t pay it. Instead, make your offer more valuable and make sure you are talking to your easiest, dreamiest client.
Goal number three: Start having conversations. This is also known as getting your first client. Your business does not start when you have a website. It starts when you start talking to people and when you get paid. If you aren’t earning money, you have a hobby. Too many business owners hide behind busy work—tweaking their logo, worrying about website colors and branding, or perfecting their Instagram grid—while having zero clients.
Here’s how you’re going to get them. First, know who you’re looking for. Second, know the solution you bring to the table. This means understanding your who. Next, tell people who are raising their hand that you can help them. Many of my students get really weirded out about selling. But you’re not selling—you’re educating. If someone contacts you, they’ve already said, "Hey, I think you can help me." They have a problem, they have a pain point, and they’re asking for your help.
Then you’re going to conduct consults and keep getting better. Every time you do a consult, you’ll improve. Every time you do an exam, you’ll get better at bridging the gap—communicating, "Here’s where you are, here’s where I’m going to take you, and here’s how I’m going to do it."
Next, deliver amazing results so that you get referrals. This is your best marketing—get amazing results for someone, and they’ll send more people. Then focus on taking massive action on the tasks that will get you more clients. Where are your ideal clients? How will you reach them? Start working on that. Take imperfect action, gather data, evaluate what’s working, adjust, and take more action. If you keep changing your decisions, you won’t have data to analyze.
Conversations equal clients. If you’re not talking to people, you don’t have a business—you have a hobby. So, that’s goal number three: Start having conversations.
Goal number four: Set up your business basics. I’ve seen way too many people get stuck here. You do not need to spend months overthinking your business name, LLC paperwork, or logo. You need to make quick decisions and get going.
Here’s what you actually need:
Your legal structure. Are you going to be an LLC, a sole proprietor, an S corp, or a C corp? Talk to a CPA about this.
A business bank account. Keep your business and personal finances separate. In my Myo Money™ program, I teach students to set up five accounts: revenue, owner’s pay, operating expenses, profit sharing, and taxes.
A payment processor. Pick one and move on—Stripe, Square, or PayPal. I use Stripe for everything, and it was very easy to set up.
A website or landing page. You can start with one page explaining who you are, what you do, and how to book.
A scheduling system. This will prevent back-and-forth emails and save you time. Some students delay this because they don’t want to spend the money, but it’s a crucial system to set up early. However, if a client is ready to pay you, don’t turn them away just because you haven’t set up your scheduling system yet.
Business basics don’t need to take weeks. Just follow your local guidelines and move forward.
Goal number five: Build your MVP (Minimum Viable Program). This is the simplest version of your offer that gets you started. You don’t need everything in place to start helping people. If someone called you tomorrow ready to pay for therapy, what do you need? A kit, a way to get paid, and a way to deliver therapy. Everything else will develop over time.
When I started, I had no idea how to structure my program because my training didn’t prepare me well. So I asked myself, "What do I need if someone wants therapy tomorrow?" I got my kits, a way to take payments, and a platform to deliver therapy. I wasn’t worried about an email list, Instagram, Facebook ads, Google analytics, or a website. I was already working on those things, but I focused on helping people first. That’s why I had my first paying client 12 weeks after my training—and you can too.
Let’s recap:
Goal number one: Get crystal clear on your who.
Goal number two: Develop your offer, set your prices, and design your therapy program.
Goal number three: Start having conversations and get clients.
Goal number four: Set up your business basics.
Goal number five: Build your MVP.
Your action steps:
Get clear on your who, develop your offer and pricing, start having conversations, don’t get stuck in business basics, and launch your MVP. My first client process was very different from my thousandth client process. Over time, I refined and optimized it. You will too.
Alright, my friend, I think we can land this plane. You now have a clear idea of what to focus on when starting your business. If you found this helpful, do me a favor—share this episode with a friend or colleague who needs help. That helps us grow the podcast.
That’s it, my friend! I will be back soon with more Myo business goodness. In the meantime, keep building a life that you are bonkers about. I’ll see you soon.